Confucius said, "Tell me, and I may not remember. Show me, and I may forget. Involve me, and I will understand."
Psychologists and educators generally agree that people learn best by experience which involves one's whole person in the activity or the material to be learned. This blog is dedicated to harnessing the power of psychologically-enhanced experience to show you how to change your life and get the things you want -- and how to keep others from preventing you from doing so!

Don E. Gibbons, Ph.D., NJ Licensed Psychologist #03513

This Blog is published for information and educational purposes only. No warranty, expressed or implied, is furnished with respect to the material contained in this Blog. The reader is urged to consult with his/her physician or a duly licensed mental health professional with respect to the treatment of any medical or psychological condition.

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The New Center for Counseling and Psychotherapy, LLC

The New Center for Counseling and Psychotherapy, LLC, is located at 675 Route 72 E Manahawkin, NJ 08050. Telephone us at(609)709-2043 and (609) 709-0009.Take Mill Creek Road South, just off Route 72, on the road to Beach Haven West.After about 400 feet, turn right into the office complex of Greater Coastal Realty. Then turn right and go past the Lyceum Gyn. Continue on to the Prudential Zack Building. We. are the last office at the end. We accept Medicare and most other major insurance.Weekend and evening office hours are avalable.

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Thursday, July 13, 2017

Is Hypnosis Dangerous? Some Hypnotists Are!

The general public often thinks of hypnosis in terms of its potential for abuse. Most people have heard of the scandal which reached the highest levels of the Court of Imperial Russia and which may have been one of the factors which ultimately contributed to its demise, involving the notorious Russian monk, Rasputin who reportedly seduced many women by hypnotizing them.

It would be a mistake to assume that fantasies of seduction occur only to male hypnotists and never to their female subjects, especially if they should happen to find that the hypnotist, or hypnosis itself, is sexually attractive. In the sexually repressive atmosphere of Imperial Russia, it should not be surprising that Rasputin was able to find volunteers who would be willing to act out such fantasies, with varying degrees of self-deception. Canhypnosis actually be used to compel obedience, when there is no underlying wish to comply? Some years ago, I was asked to testify in the case of a man who had falsely advertised himself as a psychologist and had begun hypnotizing teen-age girls in the area, one of whom subsequently accused him of rape. In order to make its case that hypnosis could be used to compel behavior, the prosecution had pointed to an incident in Eastern Europe several decades earlier, in which a stage hypnotist had handed a man a pistol loaded with blanks and commanded the man to shoot him. The hypnotized subject, who was an off-duty police officer, drew a loaded revolver from his pocket and shot three members of the audience. The defense, on the other hand, was prohibited from pointing to the girl's behavior in the neighborhood as evidence that she could have been voted "the girl most likely to. . . ."

I testified that while hypnosis cannot force people to people do something which is against their moral and ethical codes, it is impossible to conclusively demonstrate in the laboratory whether or not hypnosis could be used to compel anti-social behavior. You could never actually allow such behavior to occur in an experimental setting, or in any kind of staged demonstration, and the subjects know it! But, in what I like to call "the laboratory of life," the results are more clear-cut. Hypnosis in its modern form has been around for over two hundred years; and if you have to go half way around the world and back several decades in time in order to find even one instance of its alleged use in the commission of a crime, then it would be easier to conclude that this individual was psychotic or personality disordered than to conclude that his behavior was the result of the alleged coercive power of hypnosis. If hypnosis could be used in such a manner, by this time its anti-social applications would be well-documented -- in organized crime, in international espionage, by thwarted lovers, and in many other settings. And the evidence simply is not there. Carla Emery, who was herself the victim of an abusive love relationship in which hypnosis was present, even went so far as to conclude that the practice of hypnosis involved a vast conspiracy which was designed to protect the income of those who used it, while preserving the freedom of those who would employ it for anti-social purposes to continue to do so!

More recently, it has come to light that an attorney in Lorrain County, Ohio, was disbarred because he hypnotized two female clients who were in the process of getting a divorce and proceeded to involve them in sex acts. But in view of Orne's research, it is clear that susceptibility to seduction under hypnosis is limited to a tiny minority of people who have been made highly vulnerable to such manipulation, as these clients undoubtedly were.

With regard to the possibility of seduction under hypnosis, the problem is not with hypnosis itself, but with the power differential which is inherent in a therapeutic relationship. This trust must never be abused. The responsibility always lies with the person in authority, whether a physician, psychologist, priest, teacher, an attorney -- or a hypnotist. It is necessary for the trusted person to maintain strong boundaries and to stop any inappropriate relationships from developing, even if a client displays seductive behavior due to transference, a personality disorder, or mental illness. A teenager would be especially susceptible to such suggestions; and If she subsequently accused the hypnotist of rape, then chances are, he may have abused his position of trust and authority in order to have sexual relations with his client, which is tantamount to rape. Therefore, the prosecution's mistake was to attack hypnosis, rather than the power which the hypnotist (who had falsely advertised himself a psychologist) had abused while hypnosis was present. Instances such as these tend to be reported in great detail by the media, and are amplified still further by depictions of hypnosis in fiction. Because of the publicity which results from them, there are many people who will not have anything to do with hypnosis . And because these abuses continue to surface from time to time, the public is probably never going to be won over completely, despite our repeated assurances that hypnosis is perfectly safe when used by trained and ethical professionals.

Hyperempiria, with its emphasis on suggestion-enhanced experience as a catalyst for growth and change, is much less likely to be perceived by hypnophobic members of the general public as inherently dangerous.

(I am grateful to Dr. Annette K. Schreiber for her collaboration and assistance in the preparation of this posting.)

"Applied Hypnosis and Hyperempiria"

In contrast to a traditional hypnotic induction, based on suggestions of drowsiness, lethargy, and sleep, a hyperempiric induction is based on suggestions of increased alertness, mind expansion, and enhanced awareness and sensitivity. Both approaches have been shown to work about equally well. Naturally, some people prefer one approach and some people prefer the other; and some procedures are better suited to hypnosis, while others are best done with hyperempiria. This book shows you how to use hypnosis and/or hyperempiria in a wide variety of situations and for a wide variety of purposes.

"Experience as an Art Form," by Don E. Gibbons, Ph.D.

From the first glow of anticipation to the enduring treasures of fondest memory, suggestion provides us with a brush with which it is possible to paint upon the canvas of our awareness virtually any masterpiece we may desire.

Experience as an Art Formshows you how to re-create many of the finest achievements of history, art, literature, and popular culture as if they are actually happening right now, and you are part of the action instead of part of the audience. The easily-learned techniques described in this volume will enaable you to can guide your partner through the experience of being Harry Potter jousting on his broom, or Indiana Jones in pursuit of hidden treasure, or Juliet on her balcony, or anything else he or she is able to imagine.

Announcing "Exploring Alternate Universes -- and Learning What They Can Teach Us"

We all long to return to the safety and security of a little infant tenderly nestled in its mothers arms. If the number of alternate universes is theoretically without limit, as many physicists now maintain, then there is -- somewhere -- an alternate universe where we can bathe in an ocean of infinite, unbounded, and everalasting love, freed from the limitations of time and space, to satisfy these deepest longings, enhance our self-esteenm and overcome all our feelings of unhappiness, loneliness, anger, and despair. Using their hypnotic imagination, people who respond well are now able to create such experiences with relative ease.

Clients have been saying things like, "I can't thank you enough," and, "I'm at a point in my life now where I feel like I can accomplish anything!" We invite you now to joinus in exploring these fascinating new dimensions of experience, and in sharing with us the thrill of discovery!

About Me

I have taught at the University of Portland, the University of West Georgia, and DeSales University, where I was chairman of the Psychology Department. For about ten years, I ran an introduction service for people with disabilities, which resulted in over a hundred marriages. I worked in the New Jersey State Prison system for fifteen years; and at various times I was the Lead Psychologist at Bayside, South Woods, and Southern State Prison. I am currently in private practice as a psychologist in Manahawkin, NJ.